11 October 2017– The number of obese children and adolescents (aged five to 19 years) worldwide has risen tenfold in the past four decades. If current trends continue, more children and adolescents will be obese than moderately or severely underweight by 2022, according to a new study led by Imperial College London and WHO. Children and adolescents have rapidly transitioned from mostly underweight to mostly overweight in many middle-income countries, including in East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

11 October is World Obesity Day. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese. In the WHO European Region, an estimated 23% of women and 20% of men have obesity. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. They can also lead to overweight bias and obesity stigma, as outlined in a new brief from WHO/Europe.

10 October 2017 - Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's Director-General, today announced the establishment of a new High-level global Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). The announcement came at the 64th Session of WHO’s Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean being held in Islamabad, 9-12 October. The commission’s aim is to identify innovative ways to curb the world’s biggest causes of death and extend life expectancy for millions of people.

World Mental Health Day is marked on 10 October each year, with this year looking at mental health in the work place. Photo: WHO

10 October 2017 – People spend a large proportion of time at work, where experiences there factor into their overall wellbeing, the United Nations said on World Mental Health Day, noting that depression and anxiety disorders are common mental disorders that have an impact on our ability to work, and to work productively.

9 October 2017 – During our adult lives, a large proportion of our time is spent at work. Our experience in the workplace is one of the factors determining our overall wellbeing. Employers and managers who put in place workplace initiatives to promote mental health and to support employees who have mental disorders see gains not only in the health of their employees but also in their productivity at work. Mental health in the workplace is the theme of World Mental Health Day 2017.

Participants at the Edinburgh workshop gained first-hand experience with The Place Standard Tool, through conducting their own assessments using the tool and then analysing them.

Public health experts, focal points from the WHO European Healthy Cities Network, academics, architects and urban planners gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, on 27−28 September 2017 for a workshop and masterclass on the Place Standard tool.

Routine immunization coverage has declined in the WHO European Region as a whole over the past 5 years, creating increased risk of new outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. National immunization programmes across the Region are eager to reverse this trend. However, to develop successful interventions they must first understand the underlying determinants of their populations’ vaccination behaviours – what drives people to vaccinate, and what may pose a barrier.

Children playing at the multi-ethnic Krupskaya School in the town of Nookat, Osh oblast, Kyrgyzstan. Photo: OCHA/Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, T. Jeanneret

4 October 2017 – An estimated 41 million children under five years old are obese or overweight, United Nations health experts warned today, launching new guidelines to tackle what they call a global epidemic.

A comprehensive approach to tobacco control has helped the Government of the Russian Federation drastically lower the number of smokers in just 7 years.

According to a WHO report, the Russian Federation approach to tobacco control has lowered the sales of tobacco by almost 30% and the number of smokers by 21% from 2009 to 2016. The report, Tobacco control: a comprehensive approach at country level in the Russian Federation, describes the initiatives and policy changes which have made this possible.

Declaration of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on the Need to Intensify the Efforts to Prevent and Combat Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Marriage in Europe

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe,

1. Recalling the member States’ obligation to secure for everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

The International Day of the Girl began as a project ofPlan Internationaland the ‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign. With the support of the Canadian government, Plan International mobilized an international network to demand the establishment of a day for girls. On December 19, 2011,

The United Nations General Assembly passedResolution 66/170 adopting October 11th as the official “International Day of the Girl Child.”